Contents

Background

Born into the famed Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure, Kushina lived most of her youth being caught-up in war, making her seek for a daily "peace". At a young age she was sent to Konoha and enrolled in the Academy.

Wanting to make a strong first impression, she proclaimed to her class that she would be the first female Hokage. The other kids laughed at her statement, and began calling her Tomato (トマト) because of her then-round face and fiery red hair. This prompted her to lash out and pummel the kids who teased her. This, in addition to her red hair flying wildly around her as she did so, earned her the nickname of Red Hot-Blooded Habanero (赤い血潮のハバネロ, Akai Chishio no Habanero, Viz: Red-Hot Habanero).[5]

Mito comforting Kushina.

Kushina was eventually told why she had to leave her home of Uzushio and go to Konoha; because of her special chakra, she was to be the next jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Kushina was terrified by the idea, but she was comforted by the Nine-Tails' then-current jinchūriki, Mito Uzumaki. Before the transfer was performed, Mito told Kushina that love was the only way to tame the Nine-Tails and overcome its hate. The love of Minato Namikaze helped her do so.[6]

Minato rescuing Kushina.

At some point in time, Kushina was kidnapped by Kumogakure who wanted to make use of her special chakra in order to gain control of the Nine-Tails.[7] As they escorted her to Kumo, she secretly plucked and left behind strands of her red hair to mark her trail in the hopes that someone would find her. Minato Namikaze, one of her former classmates that Kushina believed to be a wimp, was the only one to pick up on this. After rescuing her, he informed her that he had always admired her red hair. Since Minato proved himself to be anything but a "wimp" and liked the one thing she hated about herself, Kushina fell in love with him, now considering her red hair as the "red thread of fate" (運命の赤い糸, unmei no akai ito) that had brought them together.[8]

As she grew up, Kushina became renowned for her beauty and unique ninjutsu style, including the fūinjutsu of her clan.[9] At some point, Kushina married Minato and they conceived a son. During her ten-month jinchūriki-influenced pregnancy, they decided to name him "Naruto" after the main character of Jiraiya's first book. When Jiraiya asked if they were sure, stating that it was a name he had just came up with whilst eating a bowl of ramen one day, Kushina said that it was a beautiful name. They even approved of Jiraiya to be Naruto's godfather.[10] Kushina also hoped that her son and her best friend Mikoto Uchiha's youngest son Sasuke would become friends in the future.[11]

The Nine-Tails sealed within Kushina.

Because the seal keeping the Nine-Tails within Kushina's body would be at its weakest during childbirth, special arrangements were made. Kushina would leave the village in secret and give birth in a remote location. Minato would help maintain the seal and ANBU would guard the area. Soon after Naruto was born, however, they were found by a masked man. The masked man killed all of the ANBU, Biwako, Taji, and took the newborn baby Naruto hostage, threatening to kill him as well. Minato was able to take Naruto back, but this gave the masked ninja the chance to escape with Kushina. Wishing to use the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha, the masked man released it from Kushina's body. The vitality inherent to the Uzumaki clan allowed her to survive the extraction, though greatly weakened by experience, the masked ninja tried to have the Nine-Tails finish Kushina off. She was saved by Minato and brought to Naruto, who she stayed with while Minato went to help in the village's defence.[12]

To stop the Nine-Tails' attack, Minato was forced to bring it to Kushina and Naruto's location, and both of them to its. While still weakened, Kushina used her diminished chakra to restrain the Nine-Tails. Despite knowing the trauma would kill her in her current state, Kushina volunteered to have the Nine-Tails sealed back into her body so that it would die with her. Doing so would also save the lives of Minato and Naruto; her thanks to them for giving her such a happy life. Minato suggested using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on the Nine-Tails and sealing it into Naruto instead.[13]

Minato and Kushina protecting Naruto from the Nine-Tails.

As this would also mean Minato's death, and consequently give Naruto a horrible and lonely life, Kushina naturally objected. Minato convinced her that it was for the best, and that doing this would also allow Kushina to see Naruto when he was older. After Minato sealed the Yin half of the Nine-Tails' chakra inside himself, the demon shrunk significantly, losing the chains. Realising the Hokage's intentions, the weakened Nine-Tails tried to kill Naruto, but both Minato and Kushina used their bodies to shield him. As Minato performed the sealing, and already at the point of death, Kushina told Naruto how much she loved him and gave him her best advice for the future; her final act in this world was to fill her son with as much of her love as possible. Minato then sealed the rest of their remaining chakra into Naruto, ending their lives.[14]

Personality

Kushina hits Naruto.

In her childhood Kushina was an arrogant, impulsive and stubborn girl. According to Jiraiya, Kushina was talkative and a tomboyish girl. Tsunade noted that much of Naruto's personality, as well as his ninjutsu style were inherited from her.[9] Kushina also had a verbal tic: when flustered or excited, she would end her sentences with "(da)ttebane" ((だ)ってばね), a trait she hoped (albeit unsuccessfully) that she wouldn't pass down to Naruto (who ends his with "(da)ttebayo").[15] As an adult, Kushina was shown to be very level-headed and cheerful. Despite her calm and kind demeanour, she still retained her quick temper from childhood and occasionally lashed out violently at others if they angered her. She also was very fearless, as her friend Mikoto was slightly surprised when Kushina showed anxiety over labour pains. She loved her husband and newborn son very deeply and was not afraid to sacrifice her life to stop the Nine-Tails even throwing herself between the beast and her son when it tried to attack him.

Appearance

Tsunade pointed out that Kushina was a woman well-known for her beauty.[9] She had a slender, but feminine build, fair skin, violet eyes, fiery red hair — a common trait among the members of the Uzumaki clan — with strands that framed both sides of her face and a black clip that parts her hair to the left. As an adult, she generally wore the same outfit consisting of a high-collared, sleeveless blouse under a long, loose-fitting dress. The blouses have been depicted in slate blue as well as white while the dresses have ranged from tan to green. She also wore a wristband that ranged from black to dark blue on her left wrist and shinobi sandals that have ranged from black to lavender. In her childhood, she had a round face, which, with her red hair, made her look like a tomato. Her attire was a sleeveless kimono-style blouse that was yellow in colour and held closed with a green obi over a short-sleeved mesh shirt with a pair of dark blue shorts and brown shinobi sandals. In her adolescence, she wore a short-sleeved, tan kimono-like blouse with a dark embroidered border, held closed with a black obi, a dark skirt and stockings that stopped at her thighs along with the village's forehead protector and brown sandals.

Abilities

Though she stated that she was never originally any good at using ninjutsu,[16] Kushina apparently became famous for her strong-willed spirit, and her unique style of ninjutsu.[9] In her childhood, she showed deceptive strength and fierce barehanded fighting skills, able to swing around and pummel several kids "half to death" for teasing her.[3] She also had great skill and knowledge of advanced fūinjutsu, some of which she would later teach to Minato.[17]

Life Force and Chakra Abilities

Kushina restraining the Nine-Tails with her chakra chains.

As a member of the Uzumaki clan, Kushina was blessed with an exceptionally long potential lifespan,[18] and a life-force so strong that she survived the extraction of a tailed beast minutes after giving birth, though she was left severely weakened.[19] Kushina also possessed a powerful and special form of chakra, which made her well-suited for becoming the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. With her chakra, Kushina was able to materialise chakra chains with which she was able to restrain and subdue the Nine-Tails, both in the real world as well as in her subconscious.[20] She could also form a barrier in conjunction with these chains.[20]

Part II

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc

Naruto meets Kushina.

During his training with Killer B at the Tailed Beast Temple to learn to control his tailed beast, Naruto was almost overwhelmed by the Nine-Tails' hatred, and began to undergo Version 2 transformation. Just as the hatred almost consumed him, he heard a small, clear voice speaking to him as Kushina appeared before him. Naruto initially believed that she was the Nine-Tails in disguise, and as he chided the "beast" for taking such a form, she hits him in the head. She then apologised for her short-temper, and the use of the word "(da)ttebane" ((だ)ってばね) telling Naruto that she hoped that wasn't a trait he had inherited from her. Picking up on this and realising Kushina was his mother, Naruto started to cry and embraced her. His happiness halted the Nine-Tails' spreading influence and Kushina used her chakra chains to restrain the Nine-Tails in order to give them a chance to talk. As the chains emerged the Nine-Tails was surprised after recognising her chakra.

With the opportunity to speak more freely now, Kushina noted that her son had inherited her features and verbal tick, but thankfully got his father's hair colour, as well as eyes. Dismissing this, Naruto noted that she was beautiful and had he gotten her hair colour as well, he would have been really handsome. Her smiles of joy soon turned to ones of embarrassment, however, when asked how she and Minato fell in love. Nevertheless, Kushina told Naruto the story of how she had come to Konoha as a child and was almost kidnapped by Kumo-nin, but subsequently rescued by his father. Afterwards, she told Naruto the words that she reserved for people who complimented her hair, and with the words of love resonating throughout him, Naruto was able to break free of the beast's hatred. Kushina later watched on and helped Naruto extract and separate the Nine-Tails' chakra from its body noting that her son was a powerful fighter.

Kushina thanks her son before fading into the afterlife.

With her remaining time, she told him about the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha and how the beast came to be sealed within him. After her story was finished, she apologised for placing such a burden on him. Naruto replied that it didn't matter, for even though she and Minato weren't there to show their child love, he knew that they had loved him long before the Nine-Tails was sealed into him; thus, he didn't blame her and Minato for anything, and was happy to be their son. Overjoyed, Kushina tearfully hugged Naruto, and thanked him for letting her and Minato be his parents, before she completely faded away.

Legacy

More than anything, Kushina wanted to protect her newborn son Naruto. This was why she first objected to Minato's decision to seal the Nine-Tails into him. She did not want to impose the hardships that jinchūriki had to endure during their lives, and moreover did not want to leave her son an orphan should Minato carry out his plan which would also cost him his life and as such, Kushina wanted to sacrifice her own life and reseal the beast into herself. Ultimately agreeing to Minato's plan which would also protect their village, Kushina imparted her final words to Naruto by which he should live. She would later play an integral role in Naruto's success in taking control of the Nine-Tails; a power which was later heavily relied on for the success of the Allied Shinobi Forces. Also, Kushina is quite similar to her son Naruto in personality, as observed by both Kurama and her husband Minato. This has become a source of pride and joy for Minato, giving him the heart to continue fighting with Naruto against his former student Obito.

Movies

Naruto 6: Road to Ninja

In the alternate timeline of this movie, Kushina is still alive, along with her husband Minato, and is a high-ranking ninja. Also, Minato and Kushina have a son named Menma who becomes the jinchūriki of the Black Nine-Tails.

Video Games

In Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, Kushina is playable as a strolling character in Chapter 4 of the story mode. Also, Kushina is an assist character to Naruto during his battle against the Nine-Tails.

Trivia

Kushina's name was possibly inspired by the mythological Kushinada-hime (櫛名田比売), Susanoo's wife. When she was about to be devoured by the serpent Yamata no Orochi, Kushinada-hime was saved by Susanoo in exchange for becoming his wife. Susanoo transformed the girl into a comb and placed her in his hair, then defeated the serpent. He afterwards built a palace in Izumo where he married her.

As Kushina was nicknamed after a red pepper, and Minato was famed as the "Yellow Flash", Naruto's appropriate self-styled title of "Orange Hokage" refers to the fact that the colour orange is a mixture of both red and yellow.

She is the only known jinchūriki to have survived the extraction of a tailed beast. This was due to her clan's vitality to which she inherited.[19]

Kushina mentions that her hair became her own "red thread of fate".[21] The red string of fate, also referred to as the 'red thread of destiny', 'red thread of fate', and other variants, is an East Asian belief originating from Chinese legend and is also used in Japanese legend. According to this myth, the gods tie an invisible red string around the ankles of men and women who are destined to be soul mates and will one day marry each other. Often, in Japanese culture, it is thought to be tied around the little finger. The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of time, place or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break. This myth is similar to the Western concept of soul-mates or a twin flame.

In the Naruto character popularity polls, Kushina was ranked as the 21st most popular character in the 7th.

Kushina's début with different hair and eye colour.

When first introduced in the anime, her eyes were depicted as violet-blue in colour and her hair was portrayed as a deep plum colour. This was corrected however, in subsequent episodes. However, in Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations, both her first and second appearances were shown in Naruto and Minato's stories respectively.

Kushina and Minato died the same day Naruto was born, which was October 10.

(To Minato) "Don't look so sad… Minato. I'm… I'm happy. Happy that you loved me. Happy that it's… our son's… birthday. Like… If I try to imagine surviving and the three of us… living together… I can't think of anything… beyond 'I'd be so happy.' If I had any regrets… It would be that I won't see Naruto grow up."[25]

(Final words to baby Naruto) "Naruto… you're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering. Remember who you are! Find a goal… a dream… and don't stop trying until it comes true. There's… there's so much more that I want to say… to teach you… I want to stay with you… I love you."[26]